The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, will preside over the launch of the African Regional Centre of the New Development Bank (NDB) on 17 August 2017. The President will be joined by the President of the NDB, Mr Kundapur Vaman Kamath, cabinet ministers, NDB executives and other dignitaries.

The Chair of the SADC Council of Ministers and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, will deliver closing remarks at the two-day SADC Council of Ministers' meeting on Wednesday, 16 August 2017. The SADC Executive Secretary, Dr Lawrence Stergomena Tax, will also speak at the closing of the meeting.

His Royal Highness Prince Hlangusemphi, Minister of Economic Planning and Development of the Kingdom of Swaziland, will hand over the Chairpersonship of the SADC Council of Ministers to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, during the opening of the two-day meeting of Ministers on Tuesday, 15 August 2017. The Council consists of Ministers from each of the fifteen SADC Member States and oversees the work of the SADC Secretariat.

The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Hon. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, and the Executive Secretary of SADC, H.E Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, will brief the media on the 37th SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government that is being hosted by South Africa under the theme: “Partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value-chains”. The official Summit programme began on 10 August 2017 with the meeting of the SADC Standing Committee of Senior Officials.

SADC Directors responsible for Infrastructure and Services, the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation as well as Social and Human Development will brief the media on the progress of implementing SADC Programmes in the respective sectors ahead of the 37th SADC Summit.

Date

:

Friday, 11 August 2017

Time

:

10H00 - 12H00

Venue

:

O R Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Pretoria

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President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, receives a Courtesy Call from Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Pretoria, South Africa, 11 August 2017.

Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane receives the President of Liberia, Ms Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, at the OR Tambo International Airport State Protocol Lounge. Amohetswe Motholo (5) hands over flowers to the President, and Minister Bathabile Dlamini is also present, Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 August 2017.

President Jacob Zuma congratulates President Kagame on his election victory. The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, has on behalf of the Government and the people of South Africa congratulated the President of the Republic of Rwanda, His Excellency Mr Paul Kagame, for winning the Rwandan Presidential Elections held on Friday, 04 August 2017.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane is scheduled to visit the Mpumalanga Province on Saturday, 05 August 2017, where she will join Premier David Mabuza in donating goodies to two charities situated in Mshadza, outside Hazyview, Uthando House and Mshadza Special Care Centre.

Release of Mr McGowan. Mr Stephen Malcolm McGowan, a South African national, was kidnapped in November 2011 in Timbuktu, Mali, by Al Qaeda militants whilst on holiday. He was kept in captivity since then. The family, the South African government as well as the South African and international community have since then been campaigning for his release.

President Zuma to visit Zambia. President Jacob Zuma will on Saturday, 05 August 2017, undertake a working visit to Lusaka, Zambia where he will officially open the 91st Agricultural and Commercial Show as a Guest of Honour, at the invitation of His Excellency President Edgar Lungu of Zambia.

Update on media arrangements for the 37th Ordinary SADC Summit. South Africa will host the 37th SADC Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government at the Head Office of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, OR Tambo Building, Rietondale, Pretoria, from 10—20 August 2017. The Summit will take place under the theme: “Partnering with the Private Sector in developing Industry and Regional Value Chains”.

SA condemns the attack on AMISOM troops in Somalia. The South African Government joins the African Union and international community in strongly condemning the cowardly attack on the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers on 31 July 2017 in the Somali capital , Mogadishu resulting in the death of at least twelve (12) and injury of seven (7).

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Statement on the Cabinet Meeting of 1 August 2017. Cabinet met at the Sefako M Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria on Tuesday, 1 August 2017. Cabinet Decisions - South Africa commemorates Women's Month in August, as a tribute to more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of pass laws to women.

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Minister Nkoana-Mashabane to deliver keynote address at a PAWO event. The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Hon. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, will this morning, 31 July 2017, deliver the keynote address at the Pan-African Women’s Day Inter-Generational Dialogue at the OR Tambo Building in Pretoria. The event is being held under the theme: “The Year of OR Tambo: Women United in Moving Africa Forward”.

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Deputy Minister Mfeketo in Iran on an official visit. The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Nomaindiya Mfeketo, is in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, where she is scheduled to meet her counterpart, Dr Jaberi Ansari, today (31 July 2017).

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Deputy Director-General for Africa in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Xolisa Makaya, briefing the media on South Africa's hosting of the 37th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), scheduled to take place on 19 – 20 August 2017 in Pretoria.

DIRCO to brief the media on SA's hosting of the 37th SADC Summit. The Deputy Director-General for Africa in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Xolisa Makaya, will brief the media on South Africa's hosting of the 37th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), scheduled to take place on 19 – 20 August 2017 in Pretoria.

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Conclusion of the SADC Ministerial Committee of the Organ held in Tanzania. A South African Government delegation led by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has concluded its successful visit to Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, where the SADC Ministerial Committee of the Organ (MCO) on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation met on 20-21 July 2017.

Deputy Minister Mfeketo on an official visit to Kazakhstan. The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Nomaindiya Mfeketo, will undertake an official visit to Astana, Kazakhstan, from 17 to 20 July 2017. On 10 June 2017, South Africa became one of 115 countries and 22 international organisations to participate at EXPO 2017 which is hosted in Astana until 09 September 2017.

South Africa welcomes the adoption of the Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons. The South African Government welcomes the adoption by a UN Conference on 07 July 2017 of a Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons. The adoption of this Treaty through an inclusive multilateral process in the United Nations framework, which involved both States and members of civil society, is the culmination of three international conferences held between 2012 and 2014 that considered the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and their associated risks.

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Minister Nkoana-Mashabane with Minister Georges Robelo Chikoti of Angola at the opening of the Fourth Session of the South Africa - Angola Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC), Luanda, Angola, 14 July 2017.

Picture: Yandisa Monakali

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Minister Nkoana-Mashabane concludes successful visit to Luanda. International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has concluded her successful visit to Luanda, Republic of Angola, where she led a South African delegation at the 4th Session of the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) between South Africa and Angola. The Minister co-chaired the session with her Angolan counterpart, Honourable Georges Robelo Chikoti.

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Deputy Minister of Interantional Relations and Cooperation Ms Nomaindiya Mfeketo hosting SAIIA Young Leaders Conference at the OR Tambo Building in Pretoria.